D Double E is the ultimate mic-man.
The East London native has a back catalogue spanning more than two decades, stacked with scene-shifting classics, but catching him live on stage is an entirely different experience. Since the late ’90s, D Double E has been honing his craft, moving from hip-hop and jungle into the nascent grime sound that emerged in the early 2000s. For his generation, individuality was vital. You didn’t just need your own bars; you needed your own sound, your own cadence, your own language almost.
The MCs who carved out something unmistakably theirs are the ones who have endured, and few have developed a style as instantly recognisable—and boldly unconventional—as D Double E. He’s one of the few MCs, if not the only emcee, who can earn a reload with a single syllable, and his signature ad-libs are a huge part of that. He’s just as raw now as he was in the early days, which is why he remains such an in-demand collaborator, from Chase & Status and Fred again.. to Skepta and Jammer.
Most recently, Deliveroo and Wingstop called on him for a special, one-night-only live show at the Lakota in Bristol. Tickets for the live show were free, but there were two conditions: you had to be a student at Bristol University, and you had to take the mic and do your best version of one of D Double E’s famous ad-libs, whether it was “bluku bluku”, “badabupbup” or even something deeper in the canon. Perform one of these to a high enough standard for D Double, and the ticket was yours.
Well, the show has now come and gone, so enough people made the grade, it seems. We caught up with D Double E to unpack the night, his new partnership with Wingstop and Deliveroo, as well as some key moments from his career. Tap in below.
COMPLEX: How was the show last night?
D Double E: Good, man. Great turnout.
Nice! What was it about the Deliveroo for Students x Wingstop collaboration that stood out to you and made you want to be involved?
What grabbed me was working with the uni students, man. It’s always good working with students, and I’d started to feel a bit out of touch with the uni scene. I used to do quite a few unis back in the day, like when “Street Fighter” first came out. Me and DJ Swerve, the guy who made the actual beat, used to do them. Since then, it’s been a few years since I’ve performed at a uni, so it was really interesting to come back and be part of that again. But what made this one different was being able to work with the brands as well. It wasn’t just me coming down to do a uni night as an artist—I was able to come in alongside Deliveroo and Wingstop and be part of the whole experience.
You’ve obviously been doing this for a long time, so I imagine you get approached by a lot of different brands and opportunities. When a brand comes to you, what are the things that make you think, “Yeah, this feels right for me”? Is it about the product, the people behind it, or how much creative freedom you have?
I think, initially, it comes down to whether I’ve got a good relationship with the brand. It also has to be something I genuinely love and feel like I can work with. There have been brands in the past where I’ve reached out to them and they just don’t really care. Sometimes the things you love don’t necessarily mean the brand is going to care about you, but Wingstop really does. And with Deliveroo, it’s something I actually use myself. Me and my kids all use it, and we all love Wingstop as well, so it just made sense. It felt natural, and when it’s that easy, it works.
You’ve got a lot of different skillsets and passions—you produce, you DJ, you’re really into fashion—but was MCing always the number one goal for you, or did that come later?
Actually, my first dream was to be a basketball player, but then it quickly dawned on me that it wasn’t really possible because you need to be about 6’5”. And back in the ‘90s, you really needed to be in America as well, but I still followed it and joined a team after school. Music was becoming my spare-time love, though, and then it just took over everything. There’s more longevity in music, and it’s more equal. I don’t need to be bigger or smaller—I can just be me. Anyone can do it if you’re good and you’ve got the love for it. So it just seemed a bit more down my street.
I guess you have more control over your career that way as well. You’re not signed to a team—you’re the boss.
Yeah. Actually, I did a bit of modelling back in the day as well. My mum made me join a few agencies, so if there were adverts and stuff where they needed a certain look, I could get involved. I did a lookbook and was on an agency’s books. There were also opportunities to be in dramas and shows like EastEnders, just as an extra and things like that. You didn’t have to be anyone famous, you just had to be willing to do it. So my mum used to put me forward for these little opportunities.
So did you ever actually make it onto EastEnders?
Nah, but I did take some photos for some magazines for different things. I can’t remember exactly what they were for now, but yeah, I’ve done a bit of that. And I took dancing seriously as well. I used to dance back in the ‘90s — body-popping, the robot, the running man and all that stuff. I was into that sort of stuff from about 11 to 14. I was doing dance competitions and everything. I think that kinda pushed me into music and performance. I was always more into active things—sports, music, being outdoors. I never really wanted to just sit down at a computer.
When you were starting out, it was all about the DIY approach—figuring out what you could do for yourself, getting out there as a dancer, DJ, MC or whatever it might be. Do you think that DIY attitude is still alive and well in the UK today?
It’s definitely alive and well. It’s changed the whole music scene. Now, it’s got to the point where labels aren’t necessarily finding people with talent from the ground up—they’re finding them when they’re already on fire. They’re already online, they’re on YouTube, they’re getting the views and getting the hits. If you can build that yourself, that’s when the majors come looking for you. Without that, you’ve got no one looking for you. You have to set things up yourself and display what you have so you can get found. Get your family to support you, start your movement, start your YouTube channel or whatever it is, and just get going. You’re gonna be worth more money if you do more of the work yourself in the beginning. Then, when they come knocking, you’ve already built something and you already have value to them.
Last year, you released the King Of Reloads EP with Sir Spyro, which featured “Grime Is Back”. Who are some of the young MCs that you think are keeping that grime spirit alive?
I’d have to say Duppy is one of them. Griminal as well. Zino’s another one.
You’ve collaborated with so many different people over the years, from artists you’ve come up with locally to people like Danny Brown. Is there anyone out there you’re really keen to work with that just hasn’t happened yet, for whatever reason?
Yeah, definitely. I want to work with Jorja Smith. I wanna work with Maverick Sabre. I wanna work with Popcaan. Vybz Kartel. Olivia Dean’s another one. There’s many, there’s many people I want to work with, man.
Yeah, I’m surprised some of those haven’t happened yet.
Yeah, exactly. And they’re like my friends now as well [laughs].
Only a matter of time, I’m sure. So what are you working on right now? Have you got any new music in the pipeline?
Yeah, right now, I’m preparing to start work on a new album—that will probably come out next year. I’ve also got quite a few features coming out with other artists; I’ve got a track with Chase & Status coming out, a track with Hamdi, and a few surprises as well. So yeah, there’s a few things coming.
I just heard the “Flowers Flow” track you did with Kofi Stone on his new album.
Oh, Kofi Stone. Yeah, that’s a sick one. I’ve also got a track coming out called “Go Get It”.It was produced by myself, and it’s been a little while since I’ve had one of my own productions with me on it. So I’m looking forward to that one hitting the streets and seeing what the feedback’s like, seeing if people are feeling my production.
If you could pick any MC to jump on one of your productions, who would be your number one choice?
I’ve actually got an EP of my productions with Novelist on them—all my own productions. We haven’t got a name for it yet. I’ve also got some tracks with Duppy and Mez coming out… I’ve got a few tunes that I’ve produced waiting to come out. It’s a good time for me as a producer, as well as all the other features I’ve got coming out this year. Stay tuned, man.
